Fifty years ago, a 25-year-old medical student named Roger Bannister made sporting history.

Bannister crosses the line at Iffley Road to make history

In 1954, the idea that any man could run a mile in under four minutes seemed preposterous. It was also a notion that fascinated the world.

"The four-minute mile had a beauty about it, a symmetry," the late Norris McWhirter once said.

"If you said you were running 1760 yards in 240 seconds, people would have yawned."

Paavo Nurmi, the Flying Finn, was the first man to get anywhere near, running 4mins 10.4secs in 1923. Britain's Sidney Wooderson brought that down to 4:06.04, playing a part in inspiring the young Bannister to take up running.

"As a child, I always found it easier to run than walk," says Bannister. "When I watched Wooderson - that was the first time I saw the symmetry and perfection of miling. And it was something I could do."

Going up to Oxford as a 17-year-old, Bannister did not enjoy an auspicious start to his athletics career.

On his second day at Exeter College, he went for a run around the playing fields with a friend, only to be told by the groundsman that his pal was much better.

Olympic gold

Undeterred, he kept competing, changed his running style and began picking up wins and shaving seconds from his time.

By 1951 he was down to 4mins 7.8secs. The plan was simple - go to the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, win 1500m gold and then retire to concentrate on his medical career.

Instead, with Emil Zatopek winning three golds and showing what could be done with intensive, well-structured training, Bannister ran out of gas and could finish only fourth.

It was a watershed moment.

"That was the trigger for Roger to do something in athletics," says Chris Chataway, Bannister's friend and fellow runner.

"A week later, I got a letter from Roger asking if I would pace him on an attempt on the four-minute mile."

During first lap, I was so full of running that I thought we were going too slowly

Sir Roger Bannister

Bannister started working with a new coach, the Austrian Franz Stampfl, acutely aware that two other athletes - Australian John Landy, and the "Kansas Cowboy", Wes Santee - were also closing in on the magical four-minute mark.

Hearing that Landy was on his way to Europe to chase the record, Bannister decided to make an early attempt.

The first suitable occasion he could find was 6 May, during an Oxford University v Amateur Athletics Association meet at Iffley Road, Oxford.

One-off chance

To Bannister's great consternation, the day dawned wet, windy and cold.

"My greatest anxiety was that the wind would not drop," he says.

"[Pacemakers] Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher were getting impatient, and wanted to know if it was on or off.

"Franz told me that if I had the chance and didn't take it, I could regret it for the rest of my life."

Just after six o'clock in the evening, the wind suddenly fell ahead of the scheduled mile race.

Bannister made his fateful decision. "I said, 'yes - let's do it'."

Current mile world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj meets Bannister at Iffley Road

"Roger had the adrenaline coursing," recalls Chataway. "Everything else was in place."

The crowd of 1,100 fell silent as the six athletes stepped onto the start line. The tension was such that Brasher false-started. Then, on the second gun, they were off.

"During first lap, I was so full of running that I thought we were going too slowly," remembers Bannister.

"I shouted at Chris, 'faster, faster' - but he said afterwards that he was going as fast as he possibly could."

Brasher led them through into the third lap and then gave up the lead to Chataway. Bannister hung on in second, waiting to make his move.

"I had to sense at what point Chris was starting to slow," he says.

"I wanted to leave it as late as possible, because it was an advantage to have him leading. So I decided to wait until the back straight."

The final assault

With 250 metres to go, Bannister kicked hard for home.

"I overtook decisively with a burst of speed, feeling as if I was in the finishing mode and would have to keep it going as long as I could.

"The only question on my mind was, could I make it without slowing down?"

McWhirter, standing by the finishing line, recalls Bannister's face, white and drawn, blurring through the tape as the exhausted athlete fell into Stampfl's arms.